The universe contains far more galaxies than we can imagine — at least 100-billion and quite possibly far more. How big are those numbers? Let’s put this into some perspective. If you counted galaxies at the rate of one per second for 24-hours, it would take almost 32-years for youto reach the number 1-billion. And, if you lived long enough (and certainly you won’t), you would spend almost 3,200-years to reach 100-billion. Again, that is only the estimated number of galaxies in the universe.

When we consider the number of individual stars and planets making up all these galaxies, the mind reels. The average Milky Way-sized galaxy is thought to con tain 200-billion starsand untold numbers of planets. Such amazing numbers quickly outgrow our limited comprehension and imagination.

Yet, who created the universe? Did it just pop out a window from nowhere as some believe? Scientists have come to a conclusion that the universe was not eternal; it had a beginning. If the universe came into being at a precise, specific time, then something or someone must have caused it to come into being. For now, how that all happened still remains a mystery to most, if not all.

Watch The Video

Even without the ‘Big Bang’ model, scientific laws of thermodynamics still de mand that the universe requires a beginning. The first law states that the amount of mass-energy in the universe is constant. The second law states that the amount of energy available for work is running out. Taken together, these laws require that the universe must have a beginning with much of its usable energy now running down. In any case, the vast majority of scientists now accept a uni verse of finite age. It will end.

NO BLIND FORCES AT WORK

What about our Earth? Sir Fred Hoyle – the renowned British astrophysicist and mathematician, after examining the different settings that regulate our planet and the rest of the universe pondered that: “A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as the chemistry and biology of the universe, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”

Our universe works like a giant watch, vast in scale and complexity yet precise in its mechanics. Several decades of space exploration have revealed to us the precision of the universe. It is because of this predictability that NASA can rely on split-second timing when launching men into space sending spacecraft to explore other planetary systems so inconceivably far away that it sometimes takes hundreds, thousands and even millions of years to reach them travelling at the speeds of light.

Human beings have always been awestruck by the subtlety, majesty, and intri cate organisation of our own physical world. The march of the heavenly bodies across the sky, the rhythms of the seasons, the pattern of a snowflake, and the myriads of living creatures so well adapted to their environment — all these things seem too well-arranged to be a mindless accident arising randomly from nowhere.

TO WONDER IN AWE

The magnificent splendour of the night sky still moves us to wonder in awe. What are those tiny specks of light sparkling in the distant darkness and void of space above us? How did they get there? Why are they there? Why are we here? What lies beyond them in the unimaginable reaches of the universe?

The grandeur of the shimmering heavens raises questions not just about the universe itself but also, our part in it. The same is true of the intricate patterns in all things on Earth, not just the world we see around us but the unseen world we can explore only through the magnifying power electron microscopes.

In the last 30-odd years, scientific discoveries have undermined the idea – once popular among some scientists and scholars, that we live on an unexceptional planet. But as scientific discoveries continue to accumulate and shed more light, our planet is turning out to be not just a backwater region but rather — a very privileged planet indeed.

Instead of a universe once thought to be possibly teeming with life, more and more scientists are now realising the rare qualities of our terrestrial abode. So many factors have to be just precisely right to duplicate the feats of our amazing Earth provide to sustain us that hope is now diminishing of ever finding intelli gent life on other planets.

So, if we are alone in this vast universe, ask yourself, why is that so?

2 responses to “A Matter of Choice-1”

Wow, what can I say. This is just awesome! Your 4-part series makes me rethink my own personal views about the existence of God. You’ve managed to raise quite a number of valid points and ones I’ve never even considered before until now. This article is certainly deep, well-thought out and written in a style that’s hard to argue against. Thank you for posting it.

Yes, thank you. And we particularly like the author’s use of the phrase, “If you believe instead in a faith which promises everything in death and nothing in life, then think again”. That’s really thought-provoking for believers of monolithic religions like Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastroanism and the like. We suspect a lot of arguments will arise from just that one statement alone. Even then, the author has made a solid case for it especially if you carefully read through all four parts of the article leading to it at the very end of its closing. It’s quite a tour de force.

During the Spanish..colonial period..in the Philippines, freedoms were unavailable to most people: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, parliamentary represent-ation. These were things Dr. Jose Rizal fought and died for. Today, for his various contributions to nationhood Rizal is an enduring symbol of a truly global Filipino. So, even as you now live in New Zealand, be proud about your history and who you are. Consider this, the Philippines has the oldest university in Asia, much older than universities in other places in the world. It is older even than Harvard. This means that the edu-cational and cultural level of our people over 416 years ago was way ahead than in those other places.

Engaging Christchurch’s Filipino-Kiwis

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Acclaimed writer-director John Sayles . examines the forgotten history of the Philippine-American War in his new film, AMIGO. When Rafael Dacanay's (Joel Torre) rural village in the Philippines is occupied by American troops hunting for Filipino guerillas, he comes under pressure to collaborate from both the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) and the head of the local guerillas, his brother Simón (Ronnie Lazaro). Rafael must carefully make the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. To access, just click the image above.

A Lyrical People Who Love To Dance

________________________________________________________

Nothing is more revealing than movement. To dance is to give oneself up to the rhythms of all life. The feet may learn the steps, but only the spirit can dance. It is like dreaming with your feet. In the Philippines, the Cultural Centre of the Philippines (CCP) was established to preserve, develop and promote the arts and culture of Filipinos and to showcase performances and exhibitions for various local and international productions. If you wish to learn more about the richness of the Philippine culture through dance, click this link.

________________________________________________________

Our Christchurch: Learn How It Works

________________________________________________________

Filipinos are very good at organising themselves into small associations, societies and club groups mostly along religious or regional lines. In these environments, they do manage to shine through as individuals, even perhaps as a small group of individuals but utterly fail to come together on a unified national scale collectively and as a community. As a result, their contempo rary achievements as a people in this land still fall short of their own histo rical, social, cultural and even economic achievements. Local councils and citizens have many opportunities to work together. You can use these oppor tunities yourselves and help other Filipino-Kiwis in your community to parti cipate. How councils work affect your local communities. You can have a say in what they do in their role in making regulations and implementing na tional legislation. Clicking this other link will also redirect you to the Christ church City Council section found in the Local Government Online Portal where you can find even more information. The Editorial Board of Filipinos in New Zealand (Christchurch) hopes you will take these free information re sources as a starting point for further action: show others how democracy works in New Zealand; recognise the diversity of people and of practice; bor row good ideas and adapt them for your own communities; hold the right people accountable for the right issue; and, consider how your local govern ment should develop over the coming years. Knowledge is power. Use it wisely

________________________________________________________

Watch The Video

Gateway to the South Island and bordered by hills and the Pacific Ocean, Christchurch sits at the edge of the Canterbury Plains that stretch to the Southern Alps. Nowhere else in the world do you find a city where, within 2-hours of an international airport, you find a world-class alpine ski resort, play golf, bungee jump, raft, mountain bike, hot-air balloon, wind surf, whale watch and internationally-acclaimed wineries and gardens. It has a population of 363,200 with an ethnic profile of Pākehā/Europeans 67.6%; Māori 14.7%; Asians 9.2%; Pacific Islanders 6.9%, and smaller communi ties from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa of 0.9%. In 2010-11, Christchurch and some eastern suburbs suffered earthquake damage but it is now on the mend with a massive NZ$ 40-billion rebuild programme underway.

________________________________________________________Living and Working in New Zealand

Juan in TraNZit a short inform ative video aiming to give relevant inform ation for people intending to come to New Zealand to get ready to face the challenges of migration has English subtitles. It was produced by Migrante Aotearoa, a Filipino community organisation advocating for migrants’ rights and welfare which hopes it will be useful to people around the world. Migrante Aotearoa enjoins Filipinos abroad and migrants of other ethnicities currently being recruited for the Christchurch Rebuild to take time to view the video before making any decision to come to New Zealand and prepare for the chal lenges of migration.

Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger says her family will defend charges of animal cruelty.The husband and son of the National MP have been charged with failing to protect animals, failing to prevent suffering and ill-treatment...

Labour MPs have taken offence at an Iranian agricultural delegation after they were told the Iranians wouldn't shake the hand of their female counterpart.Labour's Jo Luxton is the deputy chair of the Primary Production select committee,...

INTRO: Antonio de Pacis is the Chair of the Editorial Board of the Filipinos in New Zealand Group who himself admits to being an avid collector of contemporary art for many years. He is currently in Vancouver Canada where … Continue reading →

INTRO: Filipino-Kiwis who are in New Zealand today constitute a new but growing addition to the ethnic profile and fabric of society. Their community population concentrations are mostly found in the urbanized major cities of Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and … Continue reading →

INTRO: Most people here in New Zealand think that the only viable asset investment which potentially yields the highest return on capital is real estate. In a sense, that’s probably true as the buying and selling of houses and … Continue reading →

Slices of Life: Philippine Foodies & Fun

________________________________________________________

NAVIGATION TIPS: The full content of this magazine issue is stored on the servers of Issuu.com. When clicking the image inside the boxed panel above, you will be redirected to a separate webpage which expands on your browser. Navigation buttons are found on this new page which makes it easy for you to view all pages, including closing the web page when you’re done which will return you to the website of Filipinos in Christchurch.

________________________________________________________

Watch The Video

So how did the “It’s More Fun In The Philippines” concept come about? David Guerrero – chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO Guerrero said the idea came during a diving trip where he realised how much more fun it is to be doing the same thing here than in another country. When his team considered different strategies on how to make the campaign viral and effective, they chose to tap into the power of social media. Since the launch of the new campaign, the DOT and other government agencies have been working double time to make sure that foreigners know what the Philippines has to offer. A part of that effort has been to come up with several TV-30s versions because there’s really just so much to know about the Philippines. This version you’re watching above is called “Parking Boat”.

Advertisements

ASEAN Ties Network

Southeast Asia is a sub-region of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geo graphically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the inter section of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. South east Asia consists of two geographic re gions: Mainland Southeast Asia, which comprises of Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Vietnam and Pe ninsular Malaysia, and Maritime South east Asia comprising of Brunei, East Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, Christmas Island, and Sing apore. In New Zealand, the 10 ASEAN countries of Southeast Asia are repre sented by their migrant communities which are dispersed across the country. Here, you can visit their Facebook pages by simply clicking on the indivi dual images below.

Filipinos in Christchurch is proud to be associated with ARTEPINAS, which has considerably altered these circumstan-ces by introducing international aud-iences to innovative Philippine artists from diverse geographic, ethnic, cultu-ral and artistic backgrounds.

The Looking Glass

A rare and old photograph of Binondo, a district in Manila, circa early 1900s. Under the backdrop of the Binondo church are horse and carabao drawn carriages. Binondo was also an enclave primarily populated by ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594. Historically, Binondo was the area where the Spanish permitted con verted sangleys, their indigenous Filipi no wives, and their descendants called ‘Mestizos de Sangley’, to reside.

The Way Forward

From the wealth of ideas shared by the Christchurch community and stake holders, the five key initiatives which will ensure the Central City is redevel oped to be a strong, resilient, vibrant and economically prosperous city again are: a much greener and more attract ive city; safe, sustainable buildings that looks good and function well; a more compact central business district; a great place for people to live, work, play and learn; and, a city that’s easy to get to and around. For more details of the draft plan, just click here. Allow 15-seconds for it to finish loading.

Laugh Trip

Filipinos are great mimics and none so more true than when they apply it to themselves. Here’s a classic example of what we mean by this. Enjoy the video as it’s only just for laughs.